Minnie & Daisy BFF Book & Magazine Review + Giveaway!

Cuddling up with a good book has always been one my favorite things to do.  I love escaping into the worlds and lives of the people, either real or fictitious, that I’m reading about.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a book that I’m reading myself or one that I’m reading aloud to my kidlets –I start imagining myself as the person in the story and even start reading in their “voice,” which brings much delight to my kids! I ’m thrilled that they also enjoy books and listening to stories.

My kindergartener son recently discovered the many literary and gross delights of Captain Underpants.  It’s different from any of the other books I’ve read to them before because it is a novel, with chapters and multiple volumes.  So far we’ve read through six of the ten books in the series.  Now while my three and half-year old daughter has listened attentively to these books, “Tra La La!,” she did asked me to find a book “just like that,” but for girls.

So we tried out Disney Publishing’s new chapter book series and magazine featuring Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck.

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green + glam Shampoo & Conditioner Review

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A few weeks ago I shared how our family is trying to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.  To this point we’ve been abiding by the simple mantra of reduce, reuse & recycle, but we are now starting to try to eliminate any chemicals we use in our home – whether it’s the household cleansers or products we use on ourselves.

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I never had really thought about the types and amounts of chemicals that are in my various beauty products until I couple of weeks ago when I received samples of the Organic Beauty Now green + glam hair care line of products, their Purity shampoo and Intensive Moisturizer conditioner.  Continue reading

Hide ‘em & Hatch ‘em Eggs – Product Review & Giveaway

Today I’m lucky to have another entry from The Hubs aka @DadandMarried.  The Hubs is a kid at heart and he loves doing hands-on activities with our kiddies.  So when the Hide ‘em & Hatch ‘em Eggs showed up in our mailbox he immediately asked me if he could be the one to review them.  As my blog title says, I am the “Harried Mom” so anything to help this gal out, who am I to argue!!!

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Which came first-the chicken or the egg? It’s a question that’s vexed mankind for centuries, but luckily for my five and three-year olds, they couldn’t care less – it’s all just part of the pageantry of Easter!

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Kid Lit – Humpty Dumpty Magazine Review

My kidlets love to get mail.  They run down our long driveway and stand on their tippy toes to reach into our long black mailbox with the bright red flag.   As I sort thru the litany of bills, department store mailers and junk mail, my kidlets always ask if there’s anything addressed to them.   Occasionally there is – a birthday or holiday card from relatives or a thank you note from a friend for attending their birthday party & gift.  I love seeing the look of joy on their faces when there is a piece of mail for them, it’s totally priceless!

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The other day my son got a big surprise during our daily mail call, he received the first issue of his very own subscription to Humpty Dumpty magazine.  Humpty Dumpty is a bimonthly magazine for kids aged five to seven years old, who are learning to read independently.  It comes from the same publisher behind Jack & Jill, which I remember reading in elementary school and loving as a kid.

 

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Meet This Chica!

In our house, she is the ultimate rock star.  She has a killer wardrobe, cool friends and awesome adventures.  My daughter laughs and shrieks with delight when she sees her.  Who is this hip chick?

It’s Chica the Chicken!

chica3Preschoolers may already know Chica as one of the many fun characters from “The Sunny Side Up Show” on the cable network Sprout.  Now Chica gets her own weekly series, “The Chica Show” which premieres on NBC Kids starting this Saturday, February 9.

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Shall We Play A Game?

My kidlets are now at that fun age where they like to play games.  It really doesn’t matter what kind of game it is, just as long as they can play it with me & The Hubs.  I think we have a pretty good mix to choose from.  We have classic board games such as Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land, games from The Hubs & I childhood like Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Battling Tops and some new games like Where’s My WaterDon’t Wake DaddyRed RoverFind Hello Kitty and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

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Weekend Giveaway: NetZero 4G Hotspot

If you are always on the go like myself – between commuting to and from work, chauffeuring kidlets to various play dates, running errands, watching sports practices/games or even dance class – it’s practically impossible to find a safe and reliable WiFi connection to use your smart phone or tablet devices.

NetZero MB Logo - colorSo when I was sent a NetZero 4G Hotspot to try, I was very excited!  The NetZero 4G Hotspot is a fantastic device that provides a portable, super fast and secure internet connection without the worry of public Wi-Fi hoarders, which means you can be “plugged in” wherever you go.  It can power up to eight internet enabled devices such as computers, phones and iPads all at once. The Hotspot itself is both compact and durable and has a battery life of up to 6 hours. Continue reading

Yo Gabba Gabba! Music Is… Awesome! Vol 4. – Kid Music Review

As I’ve unfortunately watched, most children’s TV sucks for parents.   Either I find the characters too annoying or there’s way too much going on for me to follow along as a casual viewer.

One kid series I don’t mind watching is “Yo Gabba Gabba!”  The series does a fab job mixing live action, puppets, music and celebrities along with on-screen visuals that are reminiscent of retro video games and TV shows to create entertainment that’s fun for both kids and parents.

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Kid Toy Storage Solutions – LEGO® Star Wars™ ZipBin® Toy Box & Playmat Review

My son is now at that age that he is totally into all things LEGO®.   At the age of five, he’s graduated from his pre-school Duplos (which he has kindly given to his little three-year-old sis) and has moved into full-on building mode with his Hero Factory robots, villains and monsters and more recently, building his very own far, far away galaxy with LEGO® Star Wars.

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Sing A Song, If Only Mom Knew The Words

My daughter is in a cute phase right now where she wants us to “sing” nursery rhymes together.   Really what she means is that she wants mommy to sing and she just watches me closely and mouths along to the words.   Therein lies my problem.   I’m a bit – okay, a lot – rusty with the words.   Some songs I have down pat like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “Itsy, Bitsy Spider;” others I vaguely remember  such as “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “On Top Of Spaghetti” and even ones I’ve never heard before like “The Ants Go Marching.”

I suggested to The Hubs that it might be a good idea to get a CD or to download some children’s music so I could learn the songs with our daughter since she seems to enjoy them so much.   He wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of having to listen to some of the horrible kiddie music being peddled around out there, but when I mentioned Golden Records, he was into it.

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